Drummer Colin Bailey has lived in the United States for over 40 years, yet still speaks with the soft burr of his native Wiltshire.

Beginning drums at age four, he also studied piano and music theory at a young age, but it was on the drums that he worked with English name bands as a teenager and in Australia in the late 1950s. Colin credits Dave Brubeck drummer Joe Morello, whom he met and studied with in Sydney in 1960, as his biggest influence as a drummer. As Colin puts it, "I put in many hours every day trying to get [the technique] down." ("I am still practising mastering it!", Colin adds.)

In San Francisco in the early 1960, COlin was a member of the Vince Guaraldi trio, and appeared on Vince's hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind". This resulted in his relocating to Los Angeles to play with fellow UK-expat Victor Feldman. This led to a long career in the Southern California clubs and studios. Colin played with everybody.

1979 brought a big change, a move to Dallas, working in the jingle scene thriving there at that time, and also becoming a drum teacher at North Texas State University. (He spent his weekends playing with ex-Miles Davis pianist Red Garland, who had returned to his home town, Dallas.)